JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand recovered earlier losses against the dollar on Thursday, after the central bank kept domestic rates unchanged and moved to dampen market expectations of a rate cut this year due to lower oil prices.
At 1617 GMT the rand traded at 11.5300 to the greenback , up 0.41 percent from Wednesday's close.
Government bonds also gained, with yields on the paper due in 2026 falling 4.5 basis points to a fresh 20-month low of 7.06 percent.
The rand had earlier fallen to 11.6695, its weakest in more than a week, after the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy statement indicated it was still on track to raise interest rates this year.
The rand later clawed back some ground after central bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said that while lower inflation could feed expectations of rate cuts in South Africa, any decrease would depend on a sustained easing in CPI.
The rand exchange rate against the dollar remained an upside risk to the inflation outlook and was vulnerable to the timing and pace of U.S. policy normalisation, he added.
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